The Truth in Lies: A TALE OF MANN

by Amelia Wilson

  “So I scared you away?”

  He scoffed but admitted that she did.

  “But at the same time, I was intrigued. The following day, you were suddenly my classmate, and then the next. I never talk with people as much as I can avoid it but...you pull me in. I tried to stop myself but my feet automatically stepped closer to you, and my mind screamed for you.”

  “I think it was the scent.” He turned to her and faced her fully. “Yours is different from the other humans.”

  “Different?” It was a murmur, but he still heard.

  “Very. It was different, but it was intoxicating. Back at the library, you surprised me again when you still managed to move. I’ve been alive for almost a century, but I’ve never encountered someone like you before.”

  “Century?!” She shrieked.

  He laughed, clutching his stomach. “Was that the only thing you got from my confession?”

  She shook her head embarrassingly. “Sorry. I… I don’t know what to say.”

  She studied his expression. He now looked solemn, relieved. That pull he was talking about was not something new because as much as she wanted to deny it, she felt it as well towards him the first time she saw him. It was a pull so powerful, like a parched throat seeing a drop of water in the desert. It was strange and inexplicable.

  She took comfort from the fact that he seemed to be puzzled as she was.

  Chapter-5

  The light filtered through the windows, giving the room a warm glow. Easton rested his chin on the hand propped on his desk. The class was taking longer, and the TA was practically reading off the presentation instead of actually explaining them. No wonder some students hated this subject. It was a clusterfuck of facts that teachers try to drill inside the student’s head instead of explaining the context and morals.

  Just like Madison, who was on the verge of sleeping. Her head lolled forwards, and she sat straight in her seat. From his row, he could see her trying to pinch herself awake. He snickered.

  He observed Madison, just like how he usually did. There was no need for him to listen, he had taken the same lessons for years now, they could circumvent through questions, and he could still answer them.

  Madison wore her hair up that day. To Easton, it felt like she was taunting him, luring him to have a taste. His mouth watered.

  Her blood was as intoxicating as it smelled. It was like a drug that made him high. He was particularly alert and jumpy days after he sucked her blood.

  He wrinkled his nose as he remembered how calmly she took everything in when they talked last week. He was expecting her to scream, or faint, or to call him names but she stayed seated there and interrogated him like a delinquent who just stole alcohol.

  It was baffling. She should be scared of him, just like the other humans in his lifetime who ran away from him when they knew about the real him. They were very few; he could count them with his two hands.

  The first one was his real mother, and the second one was his best friend. He was just a newly-turned vampire who loathed himself for being the way he is and was bottling all the angst and anger he had for the world and the creature who did that to him.

  But when he confessed to them, they left the city without a word, a silent declaration that they had no intention in keeping him in their lives. It was a big slap to him, but he got over it. The next few people were irrelevant and ones who ended up dead a minute after.

  That was why Madison, more than ever, fucked his mind. She was an enigma from day one. From her scent to her ability to break through the trance, to making him lose his mind. Every day he was torn between sinking his teeth on her neck or ravishing and worshiping her body just how his body craved.

  At first, he dismissed it as a pointless obsession and innate curiosity. That was the rationale that pushed him into tasting her blood. He thought that afterwards, once she was lifeless and drained, he would be satisfied. But when she was on the brink of death, he gathered all self-control left and pulled back. It was the first time he ever managed to pull back from drinking blood from a prey.

  The image of her drained also pained him, and it was confusing. He never felt like this before. Hell, he was supposed to be numb. His purpose was just to go through and live and blend with the mortals, feed off the useless ones, and proceed. All these years he had been indifferent, never feeling an ounce of guilt or sympathy for the people he had killed.

  So why, after everything, did he feel hurt at the prospect of killing Madison? Fuck it. He did not know the answer. All he knew was that he wanted her so much that he could not get enough of her. He wanted to stay as close as possible, to smell her the whole day, to taste her.

  She was like a forbidden fruit.

  ***

  Easton was lost in his thoughts when Gavin sat beside him.

  “A penny for your thoughts?”

  Easton was hesitant, but more of embarrassed but he knew that Gavin had been tiptoeing around him for the past weeks, observing him, waiting for the right time to ask.

  And so he told him everything, including about the pull towards Madison that he could not explain.

  Gavin, the man he treated as a brother, the only other creature he would call a family, looked at him with worried eyes.

  “I can only tell you to be careful. This is new. She might mean danger.” He pressed a hand on Easton’s shoulder before walking away.

  Could something that makes him feel really good mean danger?

  ***

  Madison played with her fork, twirling it around the pasta until she made a huge roll before dropping it back on her plate.

  “What’s the matter?” Courtney watched as she repeated her actions.

  Madison licked her lips apprehensively. Should she?

  “Aunt Courtney.” She squeaked. She cleared her throat. “Do you believe that vampires exist?”

  Her hands stopped, and she waited with bated breath. She was expecting for a laugh, or a snort, for her aunt to call her crazy and hit her head with a spoon. But when she looked up, Courtney’s eyes were wide, and she had dropped her fork on her plate.

  “Courtney? Are you alright?” Madison stood up and was about to shake her aunt when the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it.” Courtney hurried to the front door, tripping on her own feet once along the way.

  Madison felt worried, but there was a growing suspicion.

  When her aunt came back, she was not alone. Behind her, there was a tall, pale man who had blue eyes and ash brown hair that came up to his shoulders. He had three piercing in his ears with small, black, rounded earrings on each.

  He stepped forward and introduced himself. “I’m Richmond. Son of Ben, your aunt’s childhood friend. I’ll be staying here for a while for business.”

  His voice sounded stiff and too controlled. Madison searched for her aunt’s eyes and gauged her reaction, but she remained standing, watching their exchange.

  She reached out for his hand. “I’m Madison. Please do feel at home.”

  Chapter-6

  Madison washed the dishes after Richmond nearly wiped out the remaining pasta. Courtney excused herself for not feeling well and apologized to the male for not being able to prepare for his arrival.

  She showed Richmond his room and offered to help him unpack, but he turned her down. She then went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, thinking that he wanted to be alone.

  She jumped when he sat by the dining table and watched her do the dishes.

  “Oh, do you need toiletries? Towels? We’ve got some extra here, I’ll get them.” She opened the cupboards and fished out a new toothbrush along with a box of toothpaste. She also procured a few body towels he could use and handed everything to him.

  He accepted them wordlessly. He looked at her with amused eyes.

  She backed down and resumed what she was doing. Later on, she was typing a presentation in her laptop when he settled in the living room. She offered him the remote control, but he declined.


  It suddenly felt like Easton’s case again. Richmond was watching her every move, and she was beginning to feel scared. For a second, she thought of running up to her aunt’s room and ask her if their guest was in a right state of mind but she chose to do it later if he does not relent.

  It was the same next day while she was eating a toast. He was drinking coffee, but he kept his eyes on her like she was some child. When she reached her breaking point, she met his eyes, thinking he would back down and look away. To her mortification, he smiled at her.

  She could not recall the last time she ran that fast away from home.

  ***

  They were waiting for their Anthropology professor when Easton wrinkled his nose in disgust.

  “What’s that?” He sniffed until he stopped at Madison’s direction. She lifted her shirt to her nose and took a sniff. There was nothing amiss. She smelled like sweat, but it was not overbearing.

  “You smell…” Awful was on the tip of Easton’s tongue, but he did not say it out loud to not offend her.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Easton,” Madison calling his name gave him chills, in a good way.

  “Like a carcass.” He admitted. He was saving his breath, and in the end opted to breathe through his mouth to avoid the foul smell.

  “What are you talking about? I took a shower before I left and I’ve never been near a dead body.” She colored and smelled her sleeves.

  “Are you sure? Because I swear, you smell like you rubbed yourself to a rotting body.”

  “I didn’t!” She huffed indignantly.

  “Okay, okay. Calm down. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Madison scoffed and mumbled. “Yeah, right. I’m not offended.”

  “I think I’m going to sit at the last row today. The sun’s too bright for my eyes.” He excused himself and heard her grit her teeth. He still craved for her, but right now, his olfactory sense is telling him to breathe fresh air, and it was clear he would not be getting it when he was near Madison. At the back of his mind, he wondered what that disgusting smell was.

  ***

  Madison was working on her paper when Easton plopped beside her and leaned in, nuzzling his face on her neck. She pulled back, alarmed, then looked around if anyone saw him.

  “Don’t do that!” She hissed. Easton grinned back at her, making her stomach do somersaults. She knew he was aware he was good-looking. She sneered at him.

  He nuzzled again and wrapped a hand around her waist, bringing his chair closer, the sound of wood scratching against concrete deafening. The library was dead silent, but Madison deemed its ‘silence please’ policy sacred ever since she was little. She was not about to break it for a guy who could not keep his hands to himself.

  It had been weeks since that bloodsucking incident, and they became inseparable, though, to Madison, it was more like Easton insisting on being around her as much as possible. She never admitted aloud how pleased she was when he made excuses on why he should come to her workplace or when he enumerated the benefits of him walking her home. They were all nonsense, but she let it slip. It was the pull, and she never bothered fighting it ever since her admittance that it was real, and she also wants to keep Easton close as much as possible.

  She elbowed him on the chest, but his hold was strong, unrelenting. “I’m busy.”

  “I won’t bother you.”

  “You are bothering me.”

  “Me being close bothers you?” Easton grinned. She was blinded.

  “Stop twisting my words.” In the end, she continued typing while Easton hummed close to her ear. It sounded like that song she hears on the radio every Sunday when the stations play old music.

  “Your music taste is ancient.” She wrinkled her nose in feigned disgust.

  “I am ancient.” He chuckled when she looked lost for a moment.

  “How old are you?”

  “Do you really want to know?” He wriggled his brows jokingly but turned serious when she waited for a response.

  “A little over ninety.”

  “You could pass off as my grandpa.” Easton scoffed. “I don’t recall seeing a grandfather who looked as hot as me.”

  She stopped typing, affronted at the declaration. “Who told you-you were hot?”

  “Them.” He gestured at the side, wherein two girls from their History class was gawking at them. Madison unwrapped his arms and pulled away like she was burned. Her cheeks were burning. They probably thought they were close or something.

  “You amuse me in a lot of ways I could ever imagine Madison.” He wriggled a finger on her face, and she made a grab for it and brought to her mouth as if she would bite it. Surprised at the attack, he withdrew his hand.

  Madison laughed at his reaction. He was looking at her like she was crazy.

  “As if you’ll get hurt over that.”

  “We still feel pain.” He defended but brought his chair back closer after throwing a glance behind them, relieved that there were no longer people who lingered just to sneak in on them. It scandalized him a bit.

  “You do?” She pursed her lips. “I thought you’re like, invincible to pain.”

  “Where did you even hear about that?”

  “I deduced.”

  “From what?”

  She remained quiet. There was no way she would answer that.

  “Don’t tell me you believe in those vampire movies and dramas teenagers fawn over?”

  When she did not respond, Easton bit his lip and scratched his nose with a finger. He was fighting down a smile, but he was failing miserably.

  “What was I supposed to know about vampires?” She grumbled.

  “Well, for one, we’re really immortals. But we die too.” He decided to entertain her. He smirked when she pushed her laptop away, glad to have her undivided attention.

  “How?” She propped an elbow on the table and rested her head on her palm.

  “Put a stake through our heart then chop our parts into pieces.” He said it like it was no big deal, like it was natural for him to disclose how to kill their kind.

  “Gross.”

  “Some people find pleasure in that.” He shrugged, not bothered to reveal such details. He had lived long enough and being a vampire was not something he really desired. It would not be much if someone decided to kill him.

  “Really? What, don’t tell me there are people out there who lives just to kill someone like you.”

  Easton smiled at how at ease they were with the topic like it was just about today’s weather. “There are. Me and my brother were almost killed once before. We just managed to escape.”

  “You have a brother?” She stage whispered. She found the idea incredulous.

  “Not exactly. I mean, we were turned by the same vampire and had been together since then. I just naturally saw him as a brother.” He thought about Gavin, his introvert brother who chose the life of seclusion instead of blending in with other people; his brother who always put Easton first above everything, and smiled.

  “How about the one who turned you?” She had to admit. Her curiosity was piqued with the whole idea of vampires being real. She was itching to ask these questions to Easton weeks ago when he admitted about being one but decided not to do so. She did not want to come off as prying.

  His expression dimmed. His brows drew together, and his lips curled into a scowl.

  “He’s gone.”

  Madison assumed that Easton meant that he was dead but did not ask to confirm. She hit a nerve with that one, and she did not want to push her luck.

  Deciding it was enough for the day, she reached for his hand and traced his palm with her thumb, ignoring when he yelped in surprise. Easton just let her be while she avoided his eyes the whole time. She hoped he got the message.

  Chapter-7

  Madison just arrived from work, carrying bags of groceries which she hauled to their kitchen. Richmond was in the dining room, sipping tea.

  She almost forgot about him. H
e was always out of the house, doing his business, leaving early in the morning and arriving at an indefinite time in the night.

  She greeted him, and he just gave her a tight-lipped smile. He looked pallid. He took sip after sip of his tea until the hot water scalded his tongue.

  Worried, she handed him a glass of water.

  “You reek.” He said once he emptied the glass.

  “Excuse me?” They were not on speaking terms, barely acquaintances. She could not fathom how he could say such comment offhandedly like they were best friends who were comfortable enough to tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets.